Witchcraft, gangs, violence and bloodshed. Then, peace.
The Rev. Nicky Cruz has been telling his inspiring, heartbreaking story for nearly 50 years. Today, he'll share it with Tucson.
Cruz, 70, was one of 18 children born to witchcraft-practicing parents in Puerto Rico. He was severely abused and said he lived in terror of his parents' evening practices, which included horrific rituals.
At age 15, he was sent to live with a brother in New York City and by 16, he'd became a member of a Brooklyn street gang known as the Mau Maus. Within six months, he was their leader.
He was arrested many times and held the blood-soaked body of a dying friend, but it wasn't until he met a street-preacher named David Wilkerson that his life began to change.
Cruz is now married, the father of four daughters and seven grandchildren. He has written 16 books, including an international best-seller, "Run Baby Run."
People are also reading…
Here are excerpts from a recent interview with Cruz:
My parents were spiritualists. They made their living casting out demons and supposedly contacting dead spirits. Our house was the headquarters for all sorts of voodoo, seances, and sorcery. It was not a typical childhood. My early childhood was filled with fear and resentment.
It was the practice of many Puerto Rican families to send their children to New York when they were old enough to care for themselves. It wasn't long before I was involved in gangs. We lived like wild animals. We didn't acknowledge the law, and we did whatever we had to in order to survive.
When a skinny preacher from Pennsylvania came to our turf in New York and started reading from the Bible. He was saying things I had never heard, but we laughed at him and tried to scare him off. He told me that Jesus loved me, and I still threatened him. But I couldn't stop thinking about what he said to me, and eventually I agreed to go hear him speak.
That night, something came alive in me. That night, I repented of all I had done wrong in my life and I made the decision to accept Jesus Christ.
I became an evangelist because I felt God had called me to do that. I had to share what God had done in my life.
I became a writer because more and more people came to me asking me to write about the miracle in my life.
That there are other choices besides joining a gang or experimenting with sex and drugs. They don't have to go that direction, and they certainly don't have to stay.
I think it comes down to loneliness. And the brutality of loneliness drives so many to search for things that lead them to gangs. It's a desire to belong, and to be part of a family or community that is strong and supportive.
Society can do things, but really I believe it's the restoration of the nuclear family that is the fundamental answer.
Statistics show that a two-parent family has a better chance of surviving these temptations. That's not always a guarantee, but it certainly helps. I do believe the primary answer is family, with involved parents.
If You Go
• What: A free talk by the Rev. Nicky Cruz, an author and former gang member.
• Where: The Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.
• When: Tonight. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.